1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a device and method of use of a device for preventing passage of a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device and method of use of a device for preventing the entry and/or exit of a vehicle to and from an unauthorized area. More particularly the present invention relates to a barrier and to a method of using the barrier for preventing unauthorized use of a vehicle parking space and/or unauthorized removal of a vehicle from a parking space.
2. Related Art
Although the present invention will be described with particular reference to a security device and to methods of use of the device for preventing unauthorized use of a car parking space and/or unauthorized removal of a car from a parking space, it is to be noted that the scope of the present invention is not so limited but rather the scope of the present invention is broader so as to include other types of barrier devices and uses of the devices other than specifically described in the present specification.
Further, it is to be noted that the scope of the present invention is not limited to barrier devices for cars but includes other wheeled vehicles such as bicycles, motorcycles or the like and larger vehicles such as tractors, lorries, trucks and buses. Furthermore the scope of the present invention is not limited to preventing unauthorized use of a car parking space and/or unauthorized removal of a car from a parking space but includes prevention of unauthorized entrance to or exit from or movement along a driveway or entrance such as the driveway or entrance of a car park, parking station, parking building and the like.
The rapid increase in vehicle usage around the world has concomitantly increased parking pressure in most cities. The increasing housing density in many areas has further exacerbated parking problems. At certain times of day, on street parking is at a premium and there is pressure on the availability of existing parking spaces in public and private car parks and parking buildings. Parking can be particularly problematic for those who need to come and go from a place of business in a city throughout the day because each time they return to their place of business they often have to spend a considerable amount of time searching for a parking place.
Accordingly companies often rent or buy parking places to reserve for their staff. Usually these reserved parking places are located in car parks or parking buildings, in which the balance of the parking places are available to the public. Some businesses such as restaurants also reserve parking places for their customers and the continued prosperity of the restaurant may depend on customers having access to the reserved parking places.
Reservation of parking spaces is an attractive proposition for commercial car park and parking building owners because they can demand high prices for sole or exclusive use of such spaces. Consequently the owners will try to obtain as many reserved bookings as possible. Difficulties arise as the proportion of reserved parking places in the car park or parking building increases, concomitantly reducing the parking places available to the public. This frequently leads to members of the public using reserved parking places either through ignorance or indifference.
Furthermore many members of the public will park in any space available irrespective of whether they are parking illegally and/or on private property or in a public area. Often scant attention is paid to signs warning against parking in a particular area or indicating that a parking place is reserved for a particular person or vehicle. Often drivers resort to a variety of means to gain unauthorized entry to parking lots, parking buildings or public areas in an effort to find a parking place and/or avoid paying for use of the parking place.
Many efforts have been made in the past to counter the unauthorized use of parking places or unauthorized entry of vehicles to parking areas or parking buildings. In some areas, the problem of unauthorized parking has become so serious that vehicles parked without authorization have been towed away and impounded, often leading to damage of the vehicle and occasioning legal action. Morecommonly, efforts have been made to prevent vehicles entering individual parking places or car parks or parking buildings by placing a boom barrier or locking gate at the entry or exit of the parking areas and parking buildings. The boom or gate is often automatically activated by a magnetic card or manually activated by a parking supervisor. The entry and exit driveways or approaches of some parking areas and parking buildings are fitted with a low wall, a row of metal spikes or a similar obstacle which retracts into a recess in the driveway upon receiving an appropriate signal from a parking supervisor, magnetic card or the like. While these methods and devices for stopping unauthorized entry and exit to and from car parks and parking buildings are quite effective, they are usually not foolproof and they cannot be used to protect individual parking spaces within the parking building or car park. Furthermore if the device breaks down or malfunctions, potentially hundreds of people can be inconvenienced by being prevented from entering or leaving the car park or parking building.
Individual parking places are sometimes secured from unauthorized use by manually operated devices. These manually operated devices include a hinged metal hoop (or pair of hoops) secured to the ground by bolts drilled into the surface of the parking place. The hinge allows the hoop(s) to lie flat on the ground when not in use. In use, the driver raises the hoop(s) and physically secures the hoop(s) into place by means of a padlock or some other locking device. When raised and locked into place, the profile of the hoop or pair of hoops is sufficiently high and wide to prevent a vehicle from being driven around or over the hoop. Accordingly an unauthorized driver cannot drive into the empty parking place when the hoop or pair of hoops are raised and locked in place. An authorized driver, having parked his vehicle in the parking place may subsequently raise and lock the hoop in place to prevent unauthorized removal of the car as an additional way of protecting the car from theft. The principal disadvantage of such hoops is that they require manual operation and are thus most suited for use on parking places for long term parking; the hoops are extremely unsuitable for parking places which are used on a regular basis because the user must constantly get in and out of their vehicle to manually raise and lower the hoop. Consequently the metal hoops are particularly inconvenient for use by the elderly or disabled. Additionally, it is not always possible to temporarily stop a vehicle in a roadway or similar approach to the particular parking place while the driver gets out of the vehicle to lower the hoops to allow access to the parking space.
Another device and method of the prior art for securing a vehicle parking place involves the use of a pole or post which is attached to the ground by a hinge at the base. In use it is manually raised to a vertical position and locked into place and accordingly it suffers from the same disadvantages as the hoops described above. Furthermore the profile of the pole is so narrow that very small vehicles or motorcycles may be driven around it to occupy a vacant parking place, such as for example by driving between two adjacent posts protecting two adjacent parking places and parking the vehicle spanning two adjacent parking places.
In order to overcome the disadvantages of prior art devices for securing a vehicle parking place, efforts have been made to provide automated devices. For example, one such device marketed under the trade name SECURAPARK comprises an oval metal loop and flat crossbar attached by a hinge to the ground. An external power source provides power to raise and lower the oval metal loop. One of the disadvantages of this type of system is that both the raising and lowering of the metal loop requires power from the external power source and consequently frequent replacing or recharging of the battery is required or main power must be supplied to the unit necessitating electrical wiring.
A further disadvantage suffered by the SECURAPARK device and other devices of the prior art is that special skills are required for their installation and in general it is necessary to carry out external works on a site prior to their installation. For example, the SECURAPARK device and the hoops and poles described above must be physically secured to the parking place by way of bolts, hence in certain cases it may be necessary to cast a special concrete section to accept the bolts. Automated boom gates and the like require highly specialized skills for their installation and electrical wiring. Where specialists are required to install such devices, the overall cost of each unit is increased.
Therefore there is a need to provide a device and method of use of a device for preventing passage or movement of a vehicle, which device can be remotely operated from the car without having to leave the car, and which is readily installed by the person of average mechanical skills. More particularly there is a need to provide a device and method of use of a device for preventing unauthorized use of a vehicle parking place and optionally for preventing unauthorized removal of a vehicle once parked in a parking place.